The drama started last November, when Microsoft inked a deal with Novell to foster interoperability and technical collaboration between the open- and closed-source operating systems. Novell also got protection from possible patent suits as part of the agreement.

Soon after, Microsoft came out with allegations that the open-source camp is infringing on 235 of its patents, and the software giant began making moves to form alliances with other Linux providers. The company was successful in negotiating partnerships with Xandros and Linspire, but has hit a wall with Ubuntu and Red Hat.

Canonical chief executive Mark Shuttleworth has made it clear that Ubuntu isn’t interested in forming a deal with Microsoft along the lines of those recently reached by Linspire, Xandros and Novell.